Brewing brand love: how AI startups are reaching subscribers through coffee — the cappuccinos are camouflage.
Why are AI companies suddenly opening up coffee shops?
10 months ago by Curmuffin to c/technology
Tamo240 53 points 10 months ago
This is 100% the answer, the only solution to the model decay from LLM outputs overwhelming the web is to start collecting data IRL.
This is also why companies like OpenAI are desperately investing in 'AI wearables' that no-one wants. They have to get the unpolluted data from somewhere, and recording real conversations will at least mostly have come from actual humans instead of AI.
Tollana1234567 3 points 10 months ago
since coffe shops also free wifi, they would want access to the data of laptops, and phones as well.
Rai 1 point 10 months ago
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givesomefucks 24 points 10 months ago
I don't think it's for training really.
It's way more likely they want to get people together and talking about AI in the hopes they hear literally any plausible method of monetizing it. And stealing that idea.
With the added bonus when you check out, if you subscribe to it's AI you get 50% off the drinks, if you don't you get a month of the AI service with you're drinks.
The way AI effects your brain is kind of like drugs. It's feels fun and novel at first, and a lot of people get tired and let it go. Certain people are wired different and get hooked.
Maybe it's because I just re-watched Snowfall, but it feel like when Franklin cooked up his first key and just gave it away. They're trying to hook people who would never intially buy it, because some of them won't be able to stop.
MonkderVierte 75 points 10 months ago
asked via touchscreen if they’re Perplexity Pro subscribers. A “yes” earns them 50% off drinks; a “no” triggers a QR code for a one-month free trial of the $20 service.
Look at how desperate they are to get a return before the bubble bursts. It's hilarious.
shalafi 20 points 10 months ago
It's like the dotcom bubble in that everyone is striking out in every which direction on this neew tech, hoping they're the last man standing.
This one is far worse though. Not sure how I'll survive it, but I sense my IT career is over.
mojofrododojo 12 points 10 months ago
the dotcom bubble saw us build out thousands of miles of fiber that didn't get lit for a decade. still was fine tho after that time.
tell me aibros, how many of those AI specific accelerator cards will be useful in a decade?
lol
shalafi 3 points 10 months ago
Worked at company, forget the name (Williams something?) but they were the peak IT when I started my career in Tulsa, 2000 or so. They were laying fiber, but mostly lighting dark fiber. They were the future! Best employer in town! Crashed and burned, hard.
But as you said, those resources were laid to be exploited. Guess whoever figures out how to exploit the coming AI wreckage will lead the next wave of tech. Is that even going to be possible?!
Funny story; My camp is outside a town of 900 souls, most of those in the surrounding countryside. The ISP just ran fiber! There's a stub-out at the end of my "block"! Totally uninhabited but for my weekly visits, but imagine that. Fiber everywhere now.
mojofrododojo 1 point 10 months ago
also must add:
fuuuuuck oklahoma has fiber to the block and I can't get it here? goddffffuuuuuuckking damnit comcast sucks so much balls
mojofrododojo 1 point 10 months ago
But as you said, those resources were laid to be exploited. Guess whoever figures out how to exploit the coming AI wreckage will lead the next wave of tech. Is that even going to be possible?!
that's the thing, gpus age like hot piss on a texas summer day. gonna be very interesting to see how these corpses are picked over.
mojofrododojo 2 points 10 months ago
I suspect materials science and broad biology will eventually enormously benefit - but yeah. otherwise....
aesthelete 7 points 10 months ago
I sense my IT career is over
Me too. Honestly, even if it never deflates I think long term I'm out.
Is there anything we can do with these skills other than enrich billionaire tech bro assholes? I tried very briefly tonight to look for nonprofits that are looking for software people and saw nothing but search engine mismatches.
shalafi 5 points 10 months ago
All I got is to start a small business consulting, fixing and installing for small business. Did that on the side 12-years ago and it was amazing how fast business owners jumped when offered services for a reasonable price.
We could go on-call for a monthly fee. $200/mo. per customer stacks quickly. But you have to get a feel for your customers, set expectations and fire the skinflints. If you don't have people skills, this is a non-starter. I got people skills, no business skills.
Been there, done that, know myself, not motivated enough. Give me a time and place to be, give me work, give me a paycheck and benefits, I'll knock it out the park. But if I gotta get out of bed and knock doors, again, I got the people skills, but I can't self motivate.
voronaam 1 point 10 months ago
A former colleague of mine started a farm 5 years ago. He wrote a few apps to help him with the process and even launched one to help reach customers directly.
I do not use iOS devices and could not take a look, but if you are curious, here is the app page: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/arivon/id6742965675
And here is his LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/...
More than a decade of programming. Few years of farming. I am wishing him success - as I might be asking for a framing job from him if this trend continues...
MonkderVierte 1 point 10 months ago
Create a Open Source project for something that bothers you personally (something useful) and apply for one of the Open Collective, Nlnet, Prototype Fund, Techcultivation, ...
ronigami 1 point 10 months ago
Yes, the market right now is bent toward large existing players. There is room for competition for Lyft and Uber for example. If you can find workarounds for regulatory obstacles.
MangoCats 2 points 10 months ago
I sense my IT career is over.
The IT grunt work is going to get 10x easier (need 1/10th the head count for grunt work).
If you do more than grunt work, as most "computer" people actually do, your job should be safe from AI for a while.
AceFuzzLord 1 point 10 months ago
Your career will most likely be safe. After all, someone has to comenin after the AI burns everything down to properly repair and fix the mistakes.
alecbowles 66 points 10 months ago
They need to start making money somehow. Overpriced coffee sounds like a good start
anomnom 24 points 10 months ago
The first hint that this place is run by an AI company comes at checkout, when guests are asked via touchscreen if they’re Perplexity Pro subscribers. A “yes” earns them 50% off drinks; a “no” triggers a QR code for a one-month free trial of the $20 service.
I’d have said “fuck off” and left without my coffee.
myfunnyaccountname 25 points 10 months ago
Capturing all network traffic for training.
DFX4509B_2 25 points 10 months ago
Really? AI companies going Herbalife now? Because this reminds me of how Herbalife fronts would typically pop up.
I mean, this is straight out of Herbalife's playbook for luring new marks fresh off the street into their pyramid scheme, c'mon now....
arran4 16 points 10 months ago
The article makes it sound like it's marketing, I'm going to guess it's because internet advertising doesn't work with the audience they want or they got some diminishing returns. Sounds expensive though.
darkmogool 15 points 10 months ago
There surely will be microphones to train the AI.
scarabic 2 points 10 months ago
A billboard costs money. A cafe also has your brand name on it but can be operated at a profit.
I don’t know what this is really all about but I’m just thinking through possibilities. It could definitely just be a stupid marketing fad. The number of eyeballs a cafe will get in a metropolis like Seoul is tremendous. If they had a cafe in every town across bumfuk suburbia that would be another story.
webghost0101 6 points 10 months ago
Never thought that my dislike for the taste and smell of coffee would become something that actively makes me glad.
DamienGramatacus 4 points 10 months ago
Coffee slops?
Bebopalouie 2 points 10 months ago
Heehee, well they have to make a profit somehow.
FireWire400 1 point 10 months ago
Reminds me of that uWink restaurant lol
Kissaki 0 points 10 months ago
We get so many free digital services from mega corps. If it weren't for the physical costs involved, we'd already be getting physical goods like that.
Imagine a possible future of Meta, Google, and Microsoft shops. Selling under cost to bind customers.
Zen_Shinobi -1 points 10 months ago
Great. Now "AI" will burn my coffee because it "thinks" I would rather have a hotter temp than I pick.
Good thing I like tea instead lol
Tollana1234567 1 point 10 months ago
i wouldnt be surprised if it gets confused between, 150F and 150celcius.
Zen_Shinobi 0 points 10 months ago
Or you know, 150K
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I bet they'll eventually get caught using coffee shop cameras and conversations for AI training, say it's for training a security product or something.
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